spoke quickly, with emotion. He laughed wonderfully. He was interested in everything ... He was what I would come to refer to as "jyanto," "alive," "vibrant," "energetic." Conversations were often at fever pitch. He was bubbling over with things to say. BB who grew up almost as an orphan showed deep love and care for his children. In a letter to his daughter Damayanti Basu Singh who just flew to the US for studies he wrote: Rumi, since this morning, I am really worried. Have you kept your money and traveler’s cheques in a safe and handy place? I should’ve checked everything at the airport, but just didn’t remember to do so. Exchange the pounds I gave you in England. For your small expenditures spend the loose change that you have in dollars. With the money I gave you and the first installment of your scholarship, open an account in Bloomington. Don’t deposit the traveler's cheques in the account. You’ll need those for your trips across the country. And make sure you don’t lose the slip with the cheque numbers written on it. ...Baba. Damayanti wrote that, '...And I remember that Dad used to write late into the night. He used to place books beside the table lamp to block the light so that it wouldn't disturb our sleep.' Literary life His first book of poetry, namely, Bandir Bandana (বন্দীর বন্দনা) was published when he was only seventeen years old. Although he worked as a teacher at different colleges and universities, he devoted his whole life to literature. This is symbolized by the name of his residence in Calcutta which was Kavita Bhavan (tr. 'The House of Poetry'). His first novel, Saara (সাড়া), was published when he was 18, in 1930. He wrote more than 40 novels, but his epic novel Tithidore (তিথিডোর), published in 1949, became his most admired novel and is now considered a classic. He published more than 160 titles during his lifetime. So far 200 books have been published. However, many pieces remain to be anthologized as yet. He was a hard worker and writing was his life. He began his day at 9 in the morning and would regularly work until 10 at night. Work, for him, meant writing. Literary style Buddhadeva Bose wrote poetry essentially under the influence of Western literature, although in his early works he showed the clear influence of Rabindranath Tagore.